Los Osos High School Races to the Finish Line at Solar Cup
On the weekend of May 18, 2018, the Metropolitan Water District’s 16th annual Solar Cup competition was held at Lake Skinner in Temecula. Over 600 students from teams from all over Southern California participated in the 2018 competition. Rancho Cucamonga’s Los Osos High School (LOHS) was a veteran participant among 38 competing high schools. The LOHS Grizzlies were sponsored by the Cucamonga Valley Water District and the Inland Empire Utilities Agency.
Solar Cup is the nation’s largest solar-powered boating competition which teaches high school students how to apply their skills in engineering, science, math, problem-solving and resource conservation. Over the last eight months, the LOHS team has attended boat-building and technical workshops, completed a Public Service Announcement brochure, written two technical reports and built their 16-foot, single-seat boat powered only by the sun. This year, LOHS placed 16th overall and received 2nd place in Endurance and 1st place for their technical reports from within their region.
“The Los Osos Grizzlies are an outstanding representation of hard work and dedication,” stated CVWD Board Director Randall Reed. “These students demonstrated a commitment to excellence in their education and should be very pleased with what they achieved. CVWD is proud to sponsor this team and recognize their commitment and innovation.”
Each year, CVWD sponsors one high school team in the Solar Cup competition. Together with IEUA, CVWD supports the team in its planning and preparation for the competition. This experience helps prepare students for the hands-on projects and group assignments they can look forward to in college. This is the sixth year the Los Osos High School team has competed in Solar Cup.
“We had great support from our sponsor agencies with onsite knowledge and expertise, and all the fun giveaways like t-shirts, sweatshirts and swag bags,” commented Kathleen Diver, the LOHS team advisor. “We had a few hiccups on the water this year but we hope to come back even stronger next year.”
The 2018 LOHS team includes Vikraant Chowdhry. Sharei Daniel, Emily Davalos, Hannah Davalos, Tyler Jang, Claire Lee, Anouk Mangelschots, Farid Manschaii, Ronit Hath, Tejus Rao, Michael Reichman, Alexandra Smith, Karen Tan, Kevin Tang, Pranav Ugavekar, and Ashley Velasco; teacher advisors were Kathleen Diver, Fred Diver, Gary Paley and Trevor Morris. For more information about the Solar Cup competition and other CVWD sponsored programs, please visit CVWDwater.com or call (909) 987-2591.
